Buffalo, NY (WBEN) While attention has been focused on saving the USS The Sullivans as of late, some celebrated Dyngus Day near the Central Terminal, which did not hold an event Monday and where there are concerns about how that historic structure can be saved.
Mark Lewandowski, retired president of the Central Terminal Restoration Corporation, says the weather coming into the building has been an issue, so the project needs to start at the top. "The roof was always number one. Number two was a start the process by way of stabilizing abating situations and things like that," says Lewandowski. He adds there is a master plan on the website, and the corporation has also approached various architectural authorities to come up with a realistic plan for the reuse of the building.
Lewandowski says the price tag for full restoration is extensive. "$100 million would not be an outrageous number to make it at least where you can start leasing out the building," says Lewandowski. He says the Central Terminal staff has been looking at raising funds. "They've secured $5 million to get the project really moving along as it should," says Lewandowski.
Fillmore District Councilmember Mitch Nowakowski says building up architectural gems such as the terminal plays a major role in the success and vibrancy of the surrounding area. "This is architecture that you cannot replicate, it is worthy to be preserved and restored, to bring it back to a capacity where it's reaching its full potential," says Nowakowski. He notes people are constantly asking about using the Central Terminal for filming and wedding photos.
"The parcel of the Central Terminal is massive and a large undertaking. So finding a reuse that encompasses that space for a passive Park uses, promotes cultural programming, outdoor activities that the public can utilize is critical," adds Nowakowski. He adds the master planning process was done well, and a lot of constituents who have lived in the neighborhood for decades were a part of that process. "That's why I take that that master plan very seriously, because people that live around that neighborhood deserve to be a voice in its adaptive reuse for for the future and make sure that thing stands for another 100 years," adds Nowakowski.
Nowakowski says this is a large task and will be key to the Broadway-Fillmore revival for years to come.
